Several tourists in Wyoming were fooled by the appearance of the mythical Swamp Moose in the state earlier this month. Far from a normal moose, it's a creature that walks on two legs, green by nature, and has a single antler on its head. It's also completely fictional and was a hilarious prank played by an 8-year-old.
The 8-year-old decided to prank people in the Wyoming Bighorn Mountains with the Swamp Moose. 8-year-old Bridger Knox brought the animal to life with a ghillie suit and a moose antler.
"My son has a great sense of humor," said Steve Knox, Bridger's father, via Cowboy State Daily. "We were laughing about tour buses causing traffic jams, wondered what they'd do if they saw us in the ghillie suit, and Bridger took over from there."
Swamp Moose Prank
The family went on a camping trip to the Pine Island Group Campground in Bighorn National Forest. "It's a longstanding tradition in my wife's family," Knox said. "We've been camping at that same area for two weeks around the Fourth of July for 30-plus years."
The family observed all the tourists coming to the area and decided to have a bit of fun. Thus, the Swamp Moose was born. "We watched tour bus after tour bus and car after car slam their brakes and cause all sorts of traffic jams every time the moose came out of the willows by our camp," Knox said. "It seemed like a fun opportunity to see what they'd do with a costume."
His sister in law aided the 8-year-old with the ghillie suit.
"She and her kids wanted to scare her husband near the river," Knox said. "That didn't do what they wanted, so we were eating lunch and wondering what the tour buses would do if they saw someone in the ghillie suit. And we said, 'Let's try it.'"
Soon after the Swamp Moose appeared, people began stopping their cars and vehicles to take a look at the creature.
"There were probably eight or 10 cars already stopped, with people pointing and looking around," Knox said. "Then, we noticed cars coming down the highway were noticing Bridger and slamming on their brakes."
The family enjoyed the Swamp Moose prank.
"We could see their faces in their vehicles, wondering what in the world they were looking at," he said. "Most people slammed on their brakes until they realized it was a person, and some people stopped and took pictures."
